{"id":9104,"date":"2021-06-18T13:59:52","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T13:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/?p=9104"},"modified":"2021-06-18T13:59:52","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T13:59:52","slug":"sadc-pays-tribute-to-president-kenneth-kaunda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/southern-african-news-features\/sadc-pays-tribute-to-president-kenneth-kaunda\/","title":{"rendered":"SADC pays tribute to President Kenneth Kaunda"},"content":{"rendered":"

SANF <\/em>21 no 15<\/strong>
\nThe death of the first President of independent Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda has not only robbed Zambia of its liberation leader, but also deprived southern Africa of a strong campaigner for African unity and deeper regional integration.<\/p>\n

President Kaunda, who was popularly known as \u201cKK\u201d died 17 June in a hospital while undergoing treatment for pneumonia.<\/p>\n

In a statement, President Edgar Lungu urged the Nation to be calm and united during this sad moment for the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is with deep regret and sorrow that I announce to the nation and the international community the passing of our beloved founding father, icon, and global statesman Kenneth Kaunda, First President of Zambia,\u201d President Lungu said, adding that the country has declared 21 days of national mourning.<\/p>\n

Condolence messages from the region and the rest of African and global community have continued to flow, describing Kaunda as a \u201ctrue son\u201d of Africa.<\/p>\n

Kaunda was a strong campaigner for African unity and deeper regional integration, and in April 1980 hosted that historic summit in Lusaka that gave birth to the establishment of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) \u2013 now known as the Southern African Development Community (SADC).<\/p>\n

Since the establishment of a regional body in southern Africa, the region has achieved a number of milestones aimed at advancing political and economic freedom.<\/p>\n

These achievements include the launch of the SADC Free Trade Area (FTA) in 2008, the establishment of a SADC Standby Force as well as the creation of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), where regional utilities are afforded the platform to sell and buy surplus electricity from each other, thereby helping some countries to meet their growing demand for energy.<\/p>\n

SADC chairperson, President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi of Mozambique said the late Kaunda was a great leader who fought for the defence of peace, independence and security in Africa<\/p>\n

He said that SADC and the entire African continent will remember Kaunda as a great leader who played a crucial role in the movement that led Zambia to self-determination and full independence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe SADC region and the entire African continent are very grateful for the important contribution of former President Kenneth Kaunda to our common efforts to bring about and defend independence, peace and security in the region and across the continent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, his gigantic legacy will shine forever and will inspire the present and future generation of leaders in Zambia, in the region, across the African continent and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Incoming SADC chairperson, President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi concurred, saying Kaunda was a true pan-Africanist.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have lost a part of our history and a pan Africanist,\u201d he said, adding that Zambia and Malawi share a common liberation history.<\/p>\n

President Samia Hassan Suluhu of the United Republic of Tanzania, who is the outgoing chair of SADC said the region is saddened by the loss of Kaunda since \u201cAfrica has lost a liberation fighter, and patriot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana said the region will never be the same again without its icon, Kaunda.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have learnt of the demise of Kenneth Kaunda the founding father of Zambia, a great statesman, and African leader,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKaunda was Botswana\u2019s best friend and together with the likes of Sir Seretse Khama, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere championed the liberation and independence of our region.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Masisi said in honour of the contribution that Kaunda made to deepen regional integration, Botswana has \u201cdeclared a seven-day mourning period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Incoming chairperson of the Organ, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa described the late Kaunda as a \u201cpioneering champion of a decolonised, united and prosperous Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe bow our heads in grief at the passing of a beloved and rightfully revered father of African independence and unity \u2013 President Kenneth \u201cKK\u201d Kaunda, he said, adding that \u201cwe recommit ourselves to building the Africa of KK\u2019s vision \u2013 an Africa of peace, justice, prosperity and innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outgoing chair of the Organ, President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe also paid his tribute to Kaunda saying \u201cour thoughts and prayers are with his family and the people of Zambia at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The late Kaunda was one of the SADC Founders, who together with other selfless leaders of his generation including the founding Presidents of Tanzania and Botswana, respectively Julius Nyerere, and Seretse Khama, sacrificed the economic freedom of their countries to ensure that the rest of the region achieved political independence.<\/p>\n

They formed the core leadership of the Frontline States which led the liberation struggle and laid the foundations for the formation of SADCC in 1980, and its transformation into SADC in 1992.<\/p>\n

Born on 28 April 1924 in the northern province of Northern Rhodesia, as Zambia was then called, Kaunda was the Founding President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991.<\/p>\n

After leaving politics, the late Kaunda committed most of his time fighting the HIV\/AIDS epidemic.<\/p>\n

Details of his funeral are still being finalized by the country and would be announced soon. sardc.net<\/em><\/strong>
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Southern African News Features offers a reliable source of regional information and analysis on the Southern African Development Community, and is provided as a service to the SADC region. <\/strong><\/p>\r\n

This article may be reproduced with credit to the author and publisher.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<\/span>\r\n\r\n

SANF is produced by the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC), which has monitored regional developments since 1985.      Email: <\/em>sanf@sardc.net<\/em><\/strong>      <\/em><\/p>\r\n

Website and Virtual Library for Southern Africa<\/em>     <\/em>www.sardc.net<\/em><\/strong><\/a>  <\/em>Knowledge for Development<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SANF 21 no 15 The death of the first President of independent Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda has not only robbed Zambia of its liberation leader, but also deprived southern Africa of a strong campaigner for African unity and deeper regional integration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9104","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-southern-african-news-features"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sardc.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sanf__-e1498578789316.png?fit=600%2C590&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4h5b0-2mQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9105,"href":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9104\/revisions\/9105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sardc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}